Podcasts about big city improv festival

In the wake of crisis, chaos and care, pandemic and protest: who are we ?This week's podcast features Sara Meleika telling a story about one of the turning points in her life.This story was recorded April 2019 at the Mainline Theatre in Montreal.*Note: Sara mentions a Charlene Nelson at McGill University, her name is actually Charmaine Nelson.Sara Meleika is an Egyptian improviser, storyteller, and high-school teacher. She produces and performs in Colour Outside the Lines – a show created out of a desire to see greater representation appear on Montreal’s improv stages. She is the (Anglophone) Inclusion Coordinator at Montreal Improv, co-produced Ladyfest Montreal 2017 & 2018, and co-artistic directed MPROV 2019. She has performed in MPROV, Montreal Sketchfest, Ladyfest Montreal, the Ottawa Improv Festival, Toronto’s Combustion Festival, the Big City Improv Festival and OFF-JFL/Zoofest.Thanks to the Conseil des Arts de Montreal for their support of Confabulation.Podcast production: Stephen Trepanier and Deb VanSlet Music credit: Can't Have You by Bent by Elephants from their album This is Water. You can find more of their music at https://bentbyelephantsband.bandcamp.com/

Anna Smith joins Jimmer Lowe for an episode of Q'd Up.Anna Smith has been performing sketch, improv, and stand-up comedy at various venues around Ontario for the for the past four years. Anna has been a part of Sketch Comedy troupes “A Tribe Called Sketch,” “PLAYERS” and “Low Rise Queens.” With them she has performed in multiple festivals such as the Toronto and Montreal Sketch Comedy Festivals and The Big City Improv Festival. In 2020 Anna has started performing Solo Sketch. She recently became a finalist in the “Sketch to the Death” competition, took part in Toronto Sketchfest, and was selected to be in the Just For Laughs Solo Sketch/ Character Showcase. Anna has also been acting for three years and has made multiple TV appearances on shows like Forbidden: Dying for Love, See No Evil, Collision Course and TLC’s Untold Stories of the ER.

Comedian/Writer/Actor Cara Connors brought so much passion for her vision and what she wants to accomplish to the show. I love being around people who are passionate about what they do. It is energizing, inspiring, and reminds you of what is possible in your own life. Sometimes as artists we can fall into the mindset of feeling like we need to be validated or given the permission to ask to be “seen” out of fear of stepping on someone’s toes. Cara blows the lid off of this type of thinking and I could not agree more! At one point in the interview, we were discussing contacting people for opportunities and “jumping the line” so to speak, and Cara proclaimed, “Let them tell me, no, ‘cause I am not going to tell myself no!”.  How often are a daily basis are you telling yourself no? Cara has only been doing comedy for a few years and in that time she has accomplished a lot. She openly shared her goals and dreams with me and does not see any reason why her or anyone else should not proclaim what they want aloud and go for it, “A lot of people I notice don’t like to vocalize what their actual goals are because they don’t want to say that my dream is to do A, B, or C because then if I don’t achieve it, how embarrassing… and I’m like..Go crazy! I think it’s embarrassing to not do that and to be scared of something that hasn’t happened!”  Put it out there! Maybe you’ll reach your goal, maybe you won’t but one thing is for sure you will never get there by thinking about it. I hope you play this one last quote from Cara in your head on a daily basis, “I don’t think there is anything that I don’t deserve to do and I don’t think there is anything that anyone else doesn’t deserve to do.” Get out there and get your ask in gear! In this episode: the hilariously wonderful things we get asked to do in commercial auditions how to get around your head junk and learn to ask for what you want Why you need to declare your dreams and goals What she believes makes great comedy   A Little about Cara: Cara Connors, a native Chicagoan turned Canadian, is a regular contributing writer for CBC Comedy, just filmed her first major television taping for the Winnipeg Comedy Festival this past April, and is currently creating and starring in a series of original digital sketches for CBC Comedy.  In just two short years, Cara has quickly established herself as one of the fastest rising and hardest working new talents on the Canadian comedy scene. Cara is a recent graduate of the Second City Conservatory, can be heard on Sirius XM’s Canada Laughs, was first runner-up at the prestigious She-Devil Comedy Festival in New York City, and was a headliner at the Chicago Women’s Funny Festival.  Her sketch duo “Only One of Us Is Jewish” performed at this year’s Toronto Sketchfest as well as the Big City Improv Festival. Cara also hosts a weekly stand-up show, was nominated for the “Best Female Rookie Comedian” at the I Heart Jokes Awards, and a short film she co-starred in was selected as an official nominee for “Best Short Film” at the Canadian Comedy Awards and as a Top 20 finalist for Kevin Hart's Laugh Out Loud Short Film contest as a part of this year's Just For Laughs. Cara has performed in Chicago, New York City, and Montreal and has appeared in multiple national commercials. She is known for her bold, high-energy performances that mix character-driven stories, biting wit, and absurdist takes on the everyday struggles of modern life. Twitter: @connors_cara Instagram: @caraconnorscomedy

We're baaaaack! And with a wisdom-packed episode of the Women in Comedy panel discussion at Big City Improv Festival 2017! Featuring Yas Kweens Nelu Handa & Ann Pornel, and inimitable peers Nadine Djoury, Sarah Hillier, Alessandra Vite, Lisa Merchant, Jan Caruana, Becky Johnson, Ashley Comeau, Jen Goodhue, Erin Conway.

Pantsuit Improv are graduates of Bad Dog Comedy Theatre's Narrative Studio program, with past direction by Etan Muskat (Interim Artistic Director of Bad Dog Theatre) and training with Jess Bryson (Bad Dog Academy Director), Colin Munch (Second City Toronto mainstage), and Sex T-Rex (2016 Second City Award for Best Comedy, Wasteland). Inspired by captivating storytelling, Pantsuit creates comedic performances that mirror current film and television.Since their acclaimed Narrative Studio graduate show Family Portrait in August 2016 as part of Bad Dog’s Homecoming Week, Pantsuit has performed at the Big City Improv Festival; received an Honourable Mention at the 2016 Blockbuster Week competition; and on Wednesday, May 17th at 9:30pm, Pantsuit headlines the final episode of Spring Binge at Bad Dog Theatre with The Magic-Er School Bus: improvised adventures with Ms. Frizzle's new class!Pantsuit Improv is: Hamed Dar, Brittney Drysdale, Tara Federko​, Devon Henderson,​ Christina Nicolaou,​ Cecilia Serafina​, Jackie Twomey, Terris Taylor and Ivan Yuen.Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PantsuitImprov/ Twitter: @PantsuitImprov Instagram: PantsuitImprov

As part of Big City Improv Festival, we held a panel discussion feature 9 incredible women to talk about their journey in comedy. Featuring: Jan Caruana, Ify Chiwetelu, Monica Heisey, Allison Hogg, Lisa Merchant, Maribeth Monroe, Jaime Moyer, Paloma Nunez, and Jenn Whalen. 

The Nice Guys flawlessly recreate “Citizen Kane”, with the AMAZING Paul Bates!! LIVE from the Bad Dog Theatre for Toronto's Big City Improv Festival. Famous Quote: “Want to play some Kick stick?” Brought to you By: The Sonar Network https://thesonarnetwork.com/

The nice guys flawlessly recreate “Days of Thunder”. LIVE for the Big City Improv Festival at Comedy Bar in Toronto. Brought to you By: The Sonar Network https://thesonarnetwork.com/

It’s another live Illusionoid adventure, hot off the presses from this week’s Big City Improv Festival in Toronto! And we’re joined by special guests Marty Adams (Hemlock Grove) and Kayla Lorette (The Sufferettes)!! Based on audience suggestions of “entomological neuroscience” … Continue reading →

LIVE from the Big City Improv Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, it’s ILLUSIONOID! We take a look at one of the biggest problems plaguing mankind: TRAFFIC! A scientist thinks he created a solution to clogged streets but finds his gruesome … Continue reading →

This past week saw the  BIG CITY IMPROV FESTIVAL hit Toronto, Ontario, Canada and ILLUSIONOID was a part of it! This live show was recorded October 20th, 2012 at Comedy Bar. Fenton is a detective with an uncanny ability to … Continue reading →